‘Britain, wake up now’: Estimated 70,000 join March Against Antisemitism in London
Rally addressed by UK chief rabbi and members of right-wing opposition; representatives from Labour government absent despite receiving invitation, organizing group says
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An estimated 70,000 people participated Sunday in London’s March Against Antisemitism, organizers said, calling it a wake-up call for the country amid surging anti-Jewish attacks.
The march from the BBC to Parliament Square, organized by Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) and backed by other Jewish communal organizations, was addressed by, among others, UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, and Richard Tice, deputy leader of the anti-immigrant party Reform UK.
Representatives from the ruling Labour government were conspicuously absent, despite an invitation delivered weeks ago, CAA said.
“The government’s scandalous decision not to send someone to address the Jewish community at a time of the worst antisemitism in the UK in living memory will do nothing to reassure British Jews that this government has their back or even understands the scale of the crisis,” CAA said.
CAA said the march started at the BBC “because you can’t tackle antisemitism in Britain without addressing the problem of the BBC,” which pro-Israel groups have accused of anti-Israel bias in its reporting on the Gaza war.
The group said rally-goers also observed a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Hamas onslaught that sparked the war on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
In addition, the rally featured a shofar, or ram’s horn, being blown in accordance with Jewish custom ahead of the Jewish New Year later this month, CAA said, calling it “a clarion call to wake up, and no message is more important right now for Britain.”
The group quoted Rabbi Mirvis as having said at the rally: “These are awful times. We have seen an explosion of hatred right across the UK. Antisemitism is rife right across the UK. You will see it. You will hear it. You will feel it. Britain, wake up now.”
In memory of the murdered 1,200 of 7th October 2023 and to maintain awareness of those who remain captive in the dungeons of Gaza, we held a minute’s silence.
We also blew the shofar (ram’s horn), which is customary as we approach the Jewish New Year.
It is a clarion call to… pic.twitter.com/GyPUZKC7zq
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) September 7, 2025
Footage from the rally showed the crowd awash in UK and Israeli flags. Dignitaries leading the march hoisted a large banner reading: “Britain, stand up for your values.”
The event was held a day after London police said officers arrested nearly 900 people at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action, an anti-Israel group proscribed by the government as a terrorist organization after members vandalized planes at a Royal Air Force base.
Separately, the group Scotland Against Antisemitism said Sunday it delivered an open letter to First Minister John Swinney, warning that recent statements on Israel by the Scottish government could exacerbate antisemitism and increase the risk to the Jewish community.
It said the letter so far received some 3,000 signatures, including from lawyers, politicians, educators, clergy, students, and citizens in Scotland and elsewhere.
The group noted that there are some 5,000 Scottish Jews, less than 0.1 percent of the population, but that hate crimes targeting the community accounted for 17% of all religiously motivated crimes last year.
“The human suffering in Gaza is real and cannot be understated, nor is it our intention to do so. But we must be absolutely clear with you about the real-world impact of the measures your government has announced,” the letter read. “The accusation of genocide is one of the gravest under international law. It requires an exceptional standard of proof that can only be met in a court of law by producing irrefutable evidence of intent.”
“Neither viral propaganda nor the claims of discredited UN figures such as Francesca Albanese, who denies proven sexual atrocities and is accused of misrepresenting her legal credentials, or Tom Fletcher, author of the immediately debunked “14,000 dead babies” allegation, are sufficient. For the Scottish Government to endorse this modern-day blood libel will not save a single innocent life in Gaza, but it will embolden those who now use the language of genocide to justify the harassment and intimidation of Jews here in Scotland,” the letter continued.
Read our full letter to @scotgov and @ScotGovFM and sign here; https://t.co/J7KsOmaidJ pic.twitter.com/1oMpToxN0U
— Scotland Against Antisemitism (@SAA_scotland) September 4, 2025
It called on the government to retract provocative statements, consult with the Jewish community, and implement concrete steps to safeguard their security.
Earlier Sunday, CAA published a study showing that more than one in five British adults now hold entrenched antisemitic views, nearly double the level recorded four years ago. Nearly half of respondents (45%) said they believe Israel treats Palestinians like Nazis treated Jews, a sharp rise from 33% last year. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, that figure reached as high as 60%.
The Community Security Trust, a nonprofit providing security protection to British Jews, said last month that it had recorded 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK between January and June 2025.
The figure represented a 25% drop from the all-time high of 2,019 incidents in the same period of 2024, but was the second-highest total ever for a six-month period, with more than 200 incidents a month.
There has been a global surge of antisemitism following the October 7 attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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